The present invention relates to labelling of recording medium cartridges of the type which include a memory device for storing information concerning the cartridge and data recorded on the recorded medium, and particularly although not exclusively it relates to the manner of reading this information and using it to produce a printed label containing all of, or a selected subset of this information.
In order to store digital electronic data, such as back-up data from a server computer device, it is known to use magnetic tape data storage cartridges comprising one or a pair of rotatable reels, and an elongate band of magnetic tape. A main reason for using such tape data storage cartridges is to make back up copies of important data. Customers running large computer installations, or research and development facilities having significant amounts of data generated may have hundreds or thousands of tape data storage cartridges containing back up data, backed up from a wide range of different host devices such as servers and computer devices. Large collections of tape data storage cartridges tend to be stored in centralised library locations, sometimes situated in fire proof safes or fire proof rooms. The library storage facility may be geographically remote from the host server devices, so that if there is destruction of data on the host devices, for example by a fire, the back up data remains safe. When a host device fails and data is lost, it is necessary to quickly locate the tape cartridge having the latest back up data, which may be located in an offsite library.
These libraries include manual access libraries, where the cartridges are simply stored on shelves or in racks or boxes, with access to the cartridges being by manually picking up the cartridges, or automated libraries, where the cartridges are stored in predefined locations on a rack or shelf and are automatically accessed. In a manual access library, to identify a content of a tape cartridge a person may simply write out a label manually, describing the content of the data on the tape cartridge. This process is tedious and prone to error. For example the wrong label might be put on the wrong tape, so that the contents of the label do not coincide with the data of the tape cartridge. Alternatively, tape cartridges have barcodes printed on their external cases, so conventionally finding a particular tape may involve using a barcode scanner to scan a plurality of barcode labels on a plurality of tape cartridges. In the case of an automated library, robotic arms which are software controlled, deposit and collect cartridges in a rack, or shelf, and use a serial number of a tape data storage cartridge to determine a location within the library shelf or rack on which to store the cartridge. The rack or shelf is accessible by the robotic arm which may physically select a required tape on receipt of user instructions, the robotic arm being moved under computer control to a cartridge storage location on the rack or shelf.
Conventionally, a person wishing to find an item of stored data on a cartridge will need firstly to identify the correct cartridge with the data on it, and secondly identify a position of the data on the tape stored within the cartridge. In the case of single reel cartridges, the whole of the magnetic tape is wound on to the single cartridge whenever the cartridge is not in a tape drive mechanism. To find a particular item of data on a cartridge, a person must select the cartridge, put the cartridge into a conventional tape drive device, for example forming part of a host personal computer, workstation or computerised test equipment device, and view a content of the tape on a visual display unit forming part of the host computer, workstation or test equipment device. There is a time lag incurred in winding and rewinding the tape to identify a particular item of data.
A current industry trend in tape data storage media is to supply a solid state transponder memory data storage device on or within a tape cartridge, on which can be stored information describing a data content of the tape. Examples of the type of information stored include file name and type, customer information, system data backed-up, application and file space on the magnetic tape used or remaining. The information stored on such a memory device is upgraded when the magnetic tape is accessed using a known tape drive in a host computer having an integrated driver and read-write device, controlled by software resident on the host device. Many different types of tape data storage cartridge are used in system backup and the location of the transponder memory storage device in relation to a casing of the tape cartridge varies between cartridge media types and is specific to the particular cartridge media type in each case.
To identify items of data stored on the tape cartridge, the memory device comprising part of the cartridge stores data as mentioned above, describing the file names, customer information, application and file space remaining on the tape or used on the tape, and dates of storage of files. A summary information describing the data items stored on the tape can be obtained by automatically interrogating the transponder memory storage device in the cartridge, which is read by the tape drive device by inductive coupling to a transceiver chip forming part of the memory device, and which can be displayed on the visual display unit of the host device. Reading the content of the memory device involves physically picking up the data cartridge, putting the data cartridge in the tape drive of the host device, operating a keypad or pointing device, for example a mouse or tracker ball, to select menu items from an application program on the host device, in order to identify the information describing the data content of the tape.
In order to print a label for the tape, this involves running an application stored on the host device, perhaps manually entering the information describing the data on the tape via a keyboard and/or pointing device and then printing out the label. A problem in printing a label for the tape cartridge by this mechanism is the time taken to print each label. For example, for a person wishing to find a particular item of data in a library, the first time a person enters the library on a particular day, he may have to pick an unlabeled tape cartridge which the person thinks the data item may reside on, and in order to check the data on the cartridge needs to turn on the host computer device, wait for the host device to boot up and initialise, taking possibly a minute or two, select the application required for reading the memory device on the cartridge, again perhaps taking of the order of one or two minutes, and then read the data. If the data cartridge does not contain the required data, then the person needs to remove the cartridge from the drive, which may or may not involve a delay in the software controlling the tape drive unit allowing the person to remove the tape, and then select a different tape from the shelf. For the second, subsequent tape cartridge inspected, the time delays will be shorter than inspecting the first data cartridge, since the host device does not need to be booted up and initialised. However, there is still a significant delay in interrogating the memory device on the cartridge through the application software provided by the host device.
Having found the data cartridge containing the required data, in order to print a label for attachment to the cartridge, the person needs to call up the application software for printing the label, perhaps enter details describing the cartridge manually into the printing application software, using a keyboard and/or pointing device and before printing make sure that an attached printer device is turned on. In order to turn the printing device on, the printing device may go through a print initialisation routine, which in the case of an inkjet printer may take several minutes if used for the first time on a particular day, and providing there is sufficient print medium in the printer device, then a label can be printed. However, since many printer devices use paper as a print medium, it may be necessary to find and insert sheets of adhesive labels into the printer in order to print out an adhesive label for the tape cartridge.
Therefore, conventionally it may take anything of the order of 10 to 15 minutes to print a label for a data cartridge, including all the time delays involved in booting up a host device and initialising a printer. Additionally, this assumes that a host computer device is available at the location of the library, which it may not be, in which case an additional delay is incurred in taking the tapes to the host device for the data to be reloaded. Although the time delay taken to print a label for subsequent tape cartridges after the first will reduce per cartridge, the cataloguing and identification of data stored on existing legacy libraries of tape data storage cartridges is a time consuming process, whether the library is a manual access library, or an automated library having a robotic device for selected cartridges.
In all cases, in order to improve ease and accuracy of access to the us required data, a system for checking the data stored on a tape and labeling the tape accurately will be of benefit.
Specific embodiments and methods according to the present invention aim to improve the speed and accuracy of access of data contained on a plurality of data storage cartridges in a library of such cartridges.
The specific embodiments and methods disclosed herein aim to provide improved protection against loss of data by providing a rapid and accurate means of locating backed-up data required to restore lost data to a system.
Specific methods according to the present invention, recognise that information contained on transponder memory devices in a data storage cartridge can be used to provide a rapid means of access to a data set which can be utilised to identify the cartridge and to produce a cartridge label.
Conceptually, the specific embodiments of the invention aim to provide an integrated printer with built-in radio frequency capability to read information stored on a memory device integrated into a data storage medium cartridge casing which automatically prints the information read from the memory device in a preformatted user-readable form on a label suited to the specific cartridge casing type.
According to first aspect of the present invention there is provided an automatic library device for storing a plurality of cartridge type data storage devices each having a casing containing a high capacity data storage medium, and having a programmable memory device attached to said casing, said programmable memory device storing data describing said data storage device, said library device comprising:
a rack storage means having a plurality of receptacles for storing said plurality of said data storage devices;
an automatic selection means operable to select, retrieve and replace said data storage devices from said rack; and
a reader device capable of reading a data content stored on a said programmable memory device, wherein said selection means is configured to present a said data storage medium to said reader device, said reader device being configured to read data signals from said programmable memory device, of said data storage device, and print said read data onto a print medium.
Preferably said reader device comprises a port configured to accept said cartridge type data storage device, and a printer device located in said port, said printer configured to print directly to a said data storage device when said data storage device is inserted in said port.
Said reader device may comprise:
a receiver means capable of receiving data signals from a said programmable memory of a said data storage device; and
an interface means, arranged for interfacing with said processor for communicating said data signals to an external processor device.
Said reader device may comprise:
an interface means, arranged for interfacing with said processor for communicating said data signals to an external processor device, such that inspection of information contained in data read from said programmable memory device of said data storage device can be accessed on said external processor device via said interface.
The library device may further comprise:
a read only memory means storing an operating system or operating said processor to display said data items received from said received means; and
a display device arranged to display said data items read from said programmable memory device.
The library device may comprise a means for emitting a power signal to said data storage device, said power signal emitting means located in close proximity to said cartridge port, for supply of power to said programmable memory device.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of labeling a data storage device with information stored on a programmable memory device positioned externally on a casing of said data storage device, said method comprising the steps of:
placing said data storage device in a port of a reader device capable of reading data signals describing a data content stored on said programmable memory of said data storage device;
polling a detector device located in said port of said reader device for detecting said signals;
receiving said data signals describing a predetermined stored set of parameters concerning said data storage device;
storing said data signals in a memory device of said reader device; and
printing said predetermined set of data items on an area having a size and shape which fits on said data storage device.
Said step of printing said predetermined set of data items may comprise printing said predetermined set of data items on a label of a size and shape suitable for direct attachment to said data storage device.
Said step of printing may comprise printing said data items directly onto a cartridge of said data storage device.